Unheard Gil Scott-Heron Recordings Unearthed for 'Nothing New'

We thought we already knew all of the treats that Record Store Day (April 19) had in store, but we've now learned the details of a new posthumous album from musical poet Gil Scott-Heron. Nothing New will come out in a limited run of 3,000 vinyl copies through XL Recordings on the big day.

These 14 cuts were captured at the Looking Glass Studios in New York in 2008, during the same sessions that resulted in 2010's I'm New Here. The title of Nothing New was presumably chosen because these are updated versions of old songs.

These new renditions were produced by XL boss Richard Russell. Scott-Heron provided his own accompaniment on piano without overdubs.

Scroll past the tracklist below to hear the new version of "Alien (Hold on to Your Dreams)."

Russell wrote the sleeve notes and provided some the background behind the sessions. He revealed that Scott-Heron told him during the sessions that the album "could do with a few more yuks," hence the inclusion of several interludes with studio chatter.

Today (April 1) would have been Scott-Heron's 65th birthday.

Nothing New:

A1. Did You Hear What They Said
A2. Better Days Ahead
A3. Household Name (Interlude)
A4. Your Daddy Loves You
A5. Changing Yourself (Interlude)
A6. Pieces of a Man
A7. Enjoying Yourself (Outro)
B1. Alien (Hold on to Your Dreams)
B2. Before I Hit The Bottom (Interlude)
B3. 95 South (All The Places We've Been)
B4. The Other Side
B5. The On/Off Switch (Interlude)
B6. Blue Collar
B7. On Bobby Blue Bland (Outro)